For the first time in the post-Augusto Pinochet era a conservative president will rule Chile.Billionaire business magnate Sebastián Piñera won Sunday’s runoff election by a very tight margin over Concertacion candidate and former president Eduardo Frei. Frei conceded after 99% of polling places found that he received 48.3% of the vote while Piñera got 51.6% of the vote.
Though Chile benefits from political stability, economic growth, and a very popular president in leftist Michelle Bachelet, most voters were swayed away by Piñera’s promises:
Chile’s third-richest citizen, Mr. Piñera has a financial empire that includes a controlling interest in the country’s largest airline, Lan; a major television channel; and a stake in Chile’s most popular soccer team. He has said he would divest his holdings in Lan if elected.The election proved to be disastrous for the center-left Concertacion alliance; not only did their candidate lose but Frei was hurt by the surprise showing in the first round by independent candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami. Frei failed tried to convince most voters of Piñera’s supposedly shady dealings as well as his indirect ties to Pinochet. (His brother Jose served under the late dictator’s cabinet, for instance).
During the campaign, Mr. Piñera boasted that he would create one million new jobs and crack down on delinquency and drug trafficking. He also said he would seek to privatize a part of Codelco, Chile’s state-owned copper company and the world’s largest copper producer.
Like Mr. Frei, he vowed to carry on some of the social programs that Ms. Bachelet put in place, including an expansion of early-childhood care and social assistance for nonworking mothers.
Whether Piñera’s “New Right” serves as a template to stem Latin America’s “pink tide” remains to be seen. What is fact, however, is that in March he will become Chile’s first democratically elected rightist president in 52 years.
Image- BBC News
Online Sources- BBC News, Reuters, New York Times, The Latin Americanist, Wall Street Journal
Thats very good victory for them and I am to much impressed for this success. It is a given that Arrate's voters will back Frei in the second round. That means the challenge for Piñera and the governing coalition candidate is winning over the voters who cast their ballots, This will be decided in future for them.
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